[DodgeThis]

Not to get onto the topic of a 22 for SD, but my wife has been carrying for quite a while now and she chooses a Walther P-22. However, as all of you will agree there are some concerns with that. First of course being that it's a 22. Secondly the fact that rimmed cartridges in a semi auto tend to present feeding issues. I haven't seen any mishaps with the Walther yet, plus I make sure it has CCI Stingers in it, but there's always a worry in the back of my mind that if and when she truely needs it, it will fail. Maybe I'm just too pesimistic. Although the worries I have, I would still prefer her to carry a 22 than nothing at all. But what I was thinking was to get her to go with a snubby DAO 22mag. Weighing out all the ups and downs, the only difference that's a real factor is that it holds 3 rounds less. She does not carry a reload, so at least she has more than 5-6 rounds like most carry wheel guns. But I feel like 8 22mags are better than 11 22lrs. Please feel free to voice your opinions on this matter as I will be sharing it with her. Thank you for any advice.

[mudpupp]

You are absolutely right!
Granted you could teach her failure drills for the Walter and maybe, eventually hopefully, get her to carry a reload, but..

8 rounds of magnum in a no fail delivery device is the right choice.

Plus have you seen and heard a 22 wmr come out of a snubby.

That should be enough to get the bad guys to turn tail..

[JonM]

Out of a pistol she is better offwith 22lr. While both are designed for rifles the 22wmr delivers the same performance but more muzzle flash and recoil out of a pistol for no real gain. The powder burns just too slow.

Stingers are very reliable and like you said better than a keychain. Between the two the walther is the better choice especially if she is good with it.

[DodgeThis]

Yes WMR muzzle blast is a WOW factor. I have a 22mag drringer for snake country and it's louder than a hot load 380 out of my thunder.

CCI is the only way I go when you talk abnout a handgun for carrying in rimfire cal.

I just fear that the semi auto may be an issue at some point when it may matter most.

She is excellant with it but I am scared that in a panic something could go wrong and she forget the fundamentals of the drills I put her through.

[sdcromer]

Doesn't Walther make a 380 that is about the same size as a P22?

I have a P22 that is about 10 years old. As long as you use Stingers it will function fine. Hates cheap ammo.

[kiabe1]

i know its not a 22 like you were asking about and most of you will scoff but have you looked at the llama 380 especial its about the size of the walther she has and has a felt recoil similar to a 22 wmr while running the much larger 380 cartridge. my friend carries one i sold her 5 years ago, she has roughly 5000 rounds through hers without a problem. you might also check out the ruger lcr in 22wmr

[Rick1967]

My wife has a J-Frame S&W in 22mag. It is a 7 shot. There is ammo made specifically for snubbies. There is no comparison with a 22lr. I put a laser on it for her. I would prefer she carry my J-Frame in 38 +p. But she has arthritis in her thumb. She also can not rack the slide on any of my autos. She is fairly competent with her gun. I would rather she carry a gun she can actually hit something with than to carry something that just hits inocent bystanders.

[brandinm380]

I would say that 22wmr in a small revolver is formidable. With something like a hornady critical defense 45 grain load it is more than capable. They have an advertised velocity of 1000 fps at the muzzle out of A 1 and 5/8 inch barrel, and claim expansion out to 9mm in optimal conditions. Haven't tested them for expansion myself yet, though they do make quite a bang out of my NAA mini.

[BeyondTheBox]

22lr is rifle made and rifle tested and rifle reported. Shoot it from a pistol and it will underwhelm staggeringly.

22mag is cool, tiny bit better than 25acp with loads purposed for pistols.

Either way they are Rimfire and, to me, thusly worthless as SD rounds.

As a bang they're fine, any projectile from a firearm can and will kill. Reliability, on the other hand, is on you to determine. My experience with them is mixed. Two of my junk guns have performed flawlessly with them.

[danf_fl]

Do you think your wife would be protected enough using a .22 to stop the attack of a wild boar or coyote?